S. Korea's labor productivity ranks low among OECD nations: report

South Korea's labor productivity ranked relatively low among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development last year, a report showed Wednesday.

Labor productivity per worker in South Korea totaled US$56,374 last year, ranking 23rd among 31 OECD member countries, according to the report offered by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy.

Labor productivity is measured by dividing total industrial output with total labor input during a given period of time. The report is based on statistics provided by the Paris-based organization, the ministry said.

South Korea's per-capita labor productivity is just 47.5 percent of that of Luxembourg, which topped the list with the corresponding figure of $118,366. It stands at 58.4 percent and 86 percent of those of the United States and Japan, the report showed.

Korea's labor productivity in the service sector ranked 18th out of 19 surveyed countries with a worker producing an average of $34,956, according to the report. Productivity in the manufacturing sector, however, came in fifth.

Hourly labor productivity also ranked among the lowest. Korean workers produced an average of $25.10 every hour, ranking 28th of 30 countries surveyed, according to the report.

(Yonhap News)